The present invention relates to information processing technology, and more specifically, to a method and system for translating textual information of an application.
During internationalized software development, software developers often process software issues in a particular language environment. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a software engineer who only understands English may be required to reproduce a problem found in a test or a problem fed back from a customer in a foreign language environment (e.g., shown in FIG. 2 as a German environment). The reproducing steps are often very complex, and it is not only time-consuming but also can be error-prone for an engineer to perform these steps in a totally unfamiliar foreign interface. Besides, in the case where the program does not present some foreign language information prompt according to a predetermined design, the engineer may be unable to determine the cause for the program abnormality.
When designing a software interface, a software interface designer needs also to consider the influence of different languages on a software interface layout. For example, a segment of text that may be displayed in only one line in an English environment might occupy two lines of space in a Greece environment. In order to solve these problems, one approach is to hire engineers conversant in both English and Germany, which can result in increased labor costs. Further, it may be difficult to find talents conversant in two or more languages.
Another approach is to use translation tools such as Google® translation or lexicons to translate the displayed German interface, which may be more convenient than the first approach, however, the translations are not always accurate and often still require some human interpretation.